COMMUNITY: Great Backyard Bird Count 2024
February 16 - February 19
Fun for one becomes multiplied when birders join forces for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Participating with friends, family, or a community group means there are more eyes to spot the birds and a deeper well of knowledge to draw from. Knowing where birds are seen—and not seen—is more important than ever during this El Niño year, and as climate change weather fluctuations influence bird movements.
The 27th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is taking place February 16 through 19, 2024.
More than an estimated half-million people participated during the 2023 GBBC. They reported more than 7,500 species of birds from 200+ countries.
To take part in the 2024 GBBC, each participant or group counts birds for any length of time (but for at least 15 minutes) and enters the birds they could identify at each site they visited. That could be their backyard, but it could also be a park, a wilderness area, apartment balcony, or a neighborhood street.
First-timers should make it a point to read complete instructions on the GBBC website where they will also find helpful birding tips and birding app downloads. The GBBC website also features a new map for marking local GBBC community events. Birders can join up to help celebrate birds in their hometown. https://www.birdcount.org/community-map/
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada and is made possible in part by founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited.